Do You Use Technology For Exercise & Weight Loss? [MakeUseOf Poll]

Last week, following the much anticipated Apple event, we asked you what was your favorite release from that event. All in all, not many people voted, and out of those who did, a significant amount said they don’t care. Does this mean MakeUseOf readers don’t really care for Apple?

Out of 172 votes in total, 24% liked the iPhone 5 best, 15% preferred the new iPod Touch, 11% voted for iOS 6 (perhaps before the notorious Maps issue came to light?), 5% liked the new iPod Nano, another 5% voted for iTunes 11, 3% voted for something that wasn’t included in the list, and a full 37%, the majority of the voters, really don’t care about what Apple releases.

Full results and this week’s poll after the jump.

The general disinterest in Apple aside, it seems that a surprising number of people are excited about the new iPod Touch. You can read more about what people think in last week’s comments.

This week’s poll question is: Do You Use Technology For Exercise & Weight Loss?

Want to make some extra MakeUseOf reward points? The most useful comment on the poll will be awarded 150 points!

Only a few years ago, exercise and weight loss had little to do with technology and gadgets. You ate right, you went out for a jog or a bike ride, or hit the gym for some weight-lifting. Today, there are a huge amount of web apps, mobile apps and online services that offer help with weight loss, ways to track the amount of exercise you put it, and even ways to share and compete against other users for extra motivation. Did you find an exercise companion in this volley of new services, or do you still go the old fashioned way? Or maybe you don’t watch your weight at all?

Ahmed Khalil

GrrGrrr

Bahraam

September 24, 2012

Yes, I was looking for that option too. So two so far

Yaara Lancet

September 28, 2012

“I don’t care about these things” was meant for you guys. :)

Bahraam

September 24, 2012

First I must thank again for such smart and interesting polls. It is now one of my favourite sections of muo.
We have been observing from several previous polls that muo readers are not that much into apple. Apple products users are not very interested in workarounds, tricks, fixes, and improvements. They pay to have everything in order and perfectly working right out of the box. There is a philosophy mismatch here.
I remember one poll from couple of months a ago, that a majority of users were only Linux users. These are really interesting stats. I think makeuseof should really count on the outcome of these polls for getting more popular. Writing about readers special needs and problems.

Yaara Lancet

September 28, 2012

Thanks Bahraam!

I don’t think we had a poll indicating a majority of Linux users, especially not Linux-only users, but there are definitely a good number of them. We try to provide content about all OSes, as much as possible.

Yaara Lancet

September 28, 2012

“I don’t care about these things” was supposed to fit people who don’t exercise.

Malkhaz Abuladze

flower king

Temmuz Onur Deniz Güzel

September 23, 2012

I use Endomondo pro app (on Android) to know how far I run/walk and how many calories I burn (depends on your weight and height which you input on the app) and post my workout on facebook, which is a good thing since you get positive comments from people and that motives you to wake up early and run the next morning. However, I find no use in those apps where you have to log in every little thing you eat, that’s not something you can always remember and well, since I live in a third world country, the traditional food that I eat might not be on the food list. But after all, the mobile technology is not something that Makes you lose weight, you just have to tell yourself that you will lose weight, the mobile thing is just something on the side. I lost 80 lbs (in 6 months) by spending 4 hours everyday at gym running like hell and lifting heavy stuff. where the “app” thingy comes in? just when you get home and want to tell people that daily success so you can get some “bravos” and feel happy about it :) (sorry for all the grammar mistakes)

Yaara Lancet

Anthony Wicks

September 23, 2012

There should have been a choice for “other technology not listed”. This survey only addressed “apps” and not the various pedometers, gps trackers, and heart rate monitors that are dedicated devices with their own proprietary software. It also completely ignored the Wii and Xbox as platforms for exercise technology.

Yaara Lancet

September 28, 2012

Yes, you’re absolutely right. In order to keep the poll interesting and relevant, they can’t always include every option. The poll really was about apps, mobile and webs, and less about HRMs, GPS trackers etc. The title could have been more specific, perhaps, though.

bonioloff

druv vb

September 24, 2012

You want to exercise, bigger muscles or lose weight, just do it. Eat, exercise, eat again and rest. Thats all. The only technological thing you might need is a music player. Remember the old days, jogging in the evening with only a walkman in your hands! Nowadays its all smartphones and lots of apps thats seems useless for keeping fit. Unless people wants to brag about their phones having such an app.
I go to the gym for weight gain. My phone is only a music player at these times, I won’t even reply to messages or calls.
I believe if someone really wants to exercise, he/she will do it without any technological apps or equipments…

Timo Reimerdes

September 24, 2012

Also – I do enjoy working out to get away from all the high-tech-stuff that surrounds us in everyday life. Feels good to just move a bit of iron around. Without booting or anything.

Yaara Lancet

September 28, 2012

I tend to agree. I do have an HRM, but I don’t ever connect it with any app. I don’t always use it, either. Sometimes these things are just a distraction.

druv vb

September 28, 2012

I completely agree with you, these things are just a distraction.
I did had a gym monitoring and an HRM app installed on my phone. I barely used it, except for the first try. It ended up being unistalled. Technology is supposed to help us, not make us lazy.

josemon maliakal

Swaroop Nunna

Krysia Baker

September 25, 2012

I use Endomondo Pro to track my running, walking, and biking. It’s a very robust app for ‘GPS sports’. I used to use A-Hiit Timer for interval training which is free and does the job quite well but now Endomondo Pro has the capability to specify interval training, so I just do it there.

I also use Weight Watchers e-tools to track my meals and figure out my Points values on the go. They have a barcode scanner I can use in the grocery store to figure out the Points values on products – very handy!